Jugraj to direct desi version of 'Charlie's Angles

By Subhash K. Jha

Mumbai, Feb 14 (IANS) Rohit Jugraj, whose recently released "Superstar" opened to favourable reviews and revived his career, is set to direct a desi version of Hollywood's super chick flick "Charlie's Angels".

According to industry insiders, medico-turned-moviemaker Jugraj, who started his film career by assisting Sanjay Leela Bhansali and then directed the fiasco "James" for Ram Gopal Varma, has been approached by Abbas-Mustan to produce his take on "Charlie's Angels".

Three former Miss India title-holders - Sushmita Sen, Lara Dutta and Priyanka Chopra are expected to star as the three sexy 'angels' played originally by Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore and Lucy Liu.

"I'm going to say neither yes nor no to the three names you've mentioned. All I'll say at this stage is that my producers Abbas-Mustan are very influential and they've worked with the who's who of the industry. For them getting my wish list of actors won't be a problem."

However, Jugraj warns that his "Charlie's Angels" would be very different from the original.

"Only the idea of three super-sexy girls in action combats isn't enough for me. I'll be going much deeper into their psyche, as I've done in 'Superstar'. On the surface, Kunal Khemu plays just another double role, but I've tried to examine the duality of human personality through the two roles."

Jugraj is amused by the comparisons between "Superstar" with "Om Shanti Om" (OSO).

"Sure my film too has its protagonist playing a junior artiste and a hedonistic star. But Shah Rukh in OSO was in an entirely different orbit. One critic has said I have too many close-ups of my hero Kunal Khemu in the film. I challenge any other actor of Kunal's generation to hold his expressions on camera for so long in close ups."

Jugraj has gone through tremendous hardships to make an original film.

"During my Bangkok stint of 'Superstar' my cameraman Mahendra Shetty just upped and left. I had no choice but to do the cinematography in Bangkok myself. Making 'Superstar' wasn't easy. After 'James', I had to start from scratch. But the struggle has taught me a lot."